May 2015 Housing Starts in Kingston

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - June 8, 2015) - Housing starts in the Kingston Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) were trending at 689 units in May compared to 491 in April, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The trend is a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR)[1] of housing starts.

"Starts experienced a particularly strong month in May led by a rise in apartment units which aim to satisfy the rental needs of Kingstonians. Healthy rental demand in recent years has been in support of more apartment units being supplied as the vacancy rates for these newer units are particularly low and tend to command an above average rent. It is significant to note that the majority of the May ground oriented housing starts were mainly concentrated in the Loyalist Township continuing the recent trend for this sub-market. " said Aris Gianneskis, Market Analyst for Kingston.

CMHC uses the trend measure as a complement to the monthly SAAR of housing starts to account for considerable swings in monthly estimates and obtain a more complete picture of the state of the housing market. In some situations, analysing only SAAR data can be misleading in some markets, as they are largely driven by the multiples segment of the markets, which can be quite variable from one month to the next. The multiples segment includes apartments, rows and semi-detached homes.

The standalone monthly SAAR was 1,706 units in May up from 437 in April, mainly due to higher apartment starts in the month of May.

As Canada's authority on housing, CMHC contributes to the stability of the housing market and financial system, provides support for Canadians in housing need, and offers objective housing research and information to Canadian governments, consumers and the housing industry.

[1] All starts figures in this release, other than actual starts and the trend estimate, are seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) - that is, monthly figures adjusted to remove normal seasonal variation and multiplied by 12 to reflect annual levels. By removing seasonal ups and downs, seasonal adjustment allows for a comparison from one season to the next and from one month to the next. Reporting monthly figures at annual rates indicates the annual level of starts that would be obtained if the monthly pace was maintained for 12 months. This facilitates comparison of the current pace of activity to annual forecasts as well as to historical annual levels.